Page 66 of The Alpha King's Fate

Britney’s eyes widened as she turned to look at her.

“I told you this wasn’t a game, Brit.”

“What else was I supposed to do? I thought you were in trouble,” Britney whispered.

It was unfair to get angry at her sister when she would probably have done the same thing. She had less than fifteen minutes to teach her sister how to fake it until she made it. Any other lectures could come after they were all safe.

“Everyone knows I didn’t get to tell you much since you came, so they won’t be surprised that you don’t know anything. But if they ask, you have to tell them you hear a voice in your head. One voice,” she whispered as she walked to stand in front of Brit. “That’s your wolf. Sometimes your wolf will have feelings and urges of its own, and that will feel strange. You’ll—”

“Wait. Why are you speaking like you’re not evacuating with me?”

She handed Hope to Britney, and her chest tightened.

“All the children are going first. I’ll be there in a few days,” she said with a smile. Could her sister see through it? “Can I trust you to look after your niece?”

“Layla! You can’t leave me alone with these people,” Britney hissed.

“They are your family now, too,” she said. “And you’ll have Josh and Diedre with you. I trust them.”

“But you said they can kill me,” Brit said.

Brit hadn’t been as scared when she had seen her before going to bed, but the young girl’s fear reared up again.

“That’s why you have to make sure no one suspects you are still just human,” she said as she took her sister’s hand. “That’s the only thing you have to do. And don’t look them in the eyes, or they’ll think you’re challenging them. I can’t teach you everything because I’m still learning, too, but you’re smarter than me. I know you’ll figure it all out.”

There was a knock on the door, but she had already known he was coming.

“It’s open.”

The door opened, and Jax walked in. Their gazes met briefly before he looked at the girls.

“I came to see Hope before they go,” Jax said.

Hope had already demanded to be put down and ran across the room to her father. Jax’s face lit up as he picked up his little girl. Anyone looking at him wouldn’t know how much pain he hid as he rained kisses on the little girl and blew raspberries on her cheeks.

“The cars are ready. It’s time, Layla,” Jax said.

And the smile he had on his face faltered a little. Jax closed his eyes as he hugged Hope and buried his face in her hair.

Maybe he could feel it, too. That thing in the air pressing down on them, that feeling like nothing would ever be the same again. Was this the end of their pack?

Chapter 30

The planes were in a part of the forest that Layla hadn’t dared go into before. She’d only seen the vast, endless sea of green from Jax’s lookout spot. The cars could only go so far into it, and the rest of the journey was made on foot.

The trees were thicker and the canopy denser. And the animals around them didn’t seem to scurry away as they did on the other side. She could sense they were the intruders there. The animals were used to being the kings in the forest and were taking their time deciding if the children were their next meal. She knew only the presence of the adults who already had their wolves werekeeping them at bay. She held Hope tighter against her chest and pulled Britney to her.

Britney stumbled, as she had already done several times. It made her panic a little. The children could easily see where they were going because they were born with superior senses. Even she’d had excellent eyesight, though she hadn’t known why then.

What if this meant Britney had no wolf at all?

Panic shot through her again as she followed the line of children through the dense underbrush. The warriors had marked a path for them to follow, but if Britney got separated from everyone, she’d get lost.

As they walked down a part that was a little steeper, Brit lost her footing and slid into her. She let go of her sister’s hand to steady herself on a tree trunk so she wouldn’t fall over and hurt Hope. The bark was rough and thorny, and it pieced her palm. She could smell her blood when she took her hand off it.

“I’m sorry,” Britney whispered.

Her voice was small and shaky, but she wasn’t alone in being scared. All the children and their parents were terrified.

---